Winner: Morrisons Up Hatherley, Cheltenham
Deputy store manager: Elliott Luce
Size: 33,000 sq ft
Opened: 1988
Market share: 26.9%
Nearest rivals: Asda - 1.2 miles, Waitrose - 1.8 miles, Tesco - 1.9 miles
Store data source: Analysis by CACI. Call the market planning group on 020 7602 6000

How does it feel to win?
I’m absolutely ecstatic. I’ve worked for the company for 23 years. In fact, this store is where I started out as a young boy of 16, on the fruit and vegetable section. I’ve worked at a number of stores since, but returned here five years ago as store manager.

Morrisons has reported meat sales since the horsemeat scandal broke. Has your store enjoyed similar success?
Yes. Meat sales are in double-digit growth - it’s around 10% year-on-year for butchery.

Why do you think this is?
When anything like this breaks, people are very sceptical about where their products come from. The company hasn’t had to recall any products or take anything off shelf. What we’re trying to do with the Ant and Dec adverts is show people that we can trace every product. I call it from field to fork. We work with farmers, we own the abattoirs and we can guarantee that the product is British and trace it through to the supplier. My butchery team and staff in the shop talk to customers and reassure them.

What are your thoughts on the Geordie duo?
Everybody likes Ant and Dec. They appeal to all levels, they’re good, clean-cut guys. All the store managers went to a meeting with the chief
executive at the start of the financial year and Ant and Dec came in to talk to us about how they got involved on the farms and what they’d learnt. It was really entertaining.

What ranges are selling well?
Fresh fruit, flowers, butchery, bakery and fish are doing very well, but we’re struggling to gain sales in some non-food items such as CDs and DVDs. With iTunes, Netflix and so on, there are so many different channels for consumers to buy from. It’s a tough market to compete in.

Might you be a Store of the Future?
We’ve been measured for it. It would fit Cheltenham and the demographics well, but there are no plans as of yet.

Elliott Luce was talking to Helen Gilbert

 

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